Spain's Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano fared best of all in the blustery conditions to sit one shot clear of the field following the opening round of the Qatar Masters on Thursday.
Conditions were far from ideal for the players as a strong wind blew across the desert but Fernandez-Castano did not let it affect him as he produced four late birdies to overtake John Daly at the top of the leaderboard.
The Spaniard opened his round with a birdie but he gave the shot back at the fifth before recovering it immediately and he added two more before the turn.
His second bogey of the day came at the tenth with the 13th causing him to drop another shot, but both times he managed to regain the shot at the next hole. Three successive birdies from the 16th ensure he finished the day with a 66 for a six-under-par total.
Daly produced a blemish-free round as he carded a five-under 65, which included a birdie four at the ninth, his final hole of the day, and he was delighted with the effort.
"That was one of the best rounds I've ever played in a wind like that. You feel like you are eating sand - it was brutal," he told europeantour.com.
"I'm pretty shocked. I have had five and a half weeks off and really didn't touch a club much."
The American is in second place on his own just a strong clear of South Korean KJ Choi and Jason Day of Australia, while Nicolas Colsaerts, Paul Lawrie, Peter Hanson, Richard Finch and Danny Willett are three-under heading into the second round.
Elsewhere, Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal managed to reach five-under but four birdies in the last seven holes ruined his round and he had to sign for a one-under 71, the same score as world number four Martin Kaymer.